Charles r



(No Model.)

0- B. SMITH.

' -HO0P.-

No. 555,712. Patented Mar. 3', 1896.

"Fi i WWW/WW5 1 UNITED STATES Y PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. SMITH, OF NEENAH, IVISCONSIN.

HOOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,712, dated March 3,1896.

Application filed December 23, 1895. Serial No. 573,061. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Neenah, in the county of Winnebago and State ofWisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hoops, of whichthe following is a specification.

bilge.

In the manufacture of pails, barrels, &c., of wood in order that thevessels may withstand being stored in warm and dry places, as theysometimes are for a long time before being put to use, it is essentialthat the wood of which the vessels are made is dry and that their hoopsare tightly driven, so that if shrinkage of said wood takes place, as itoften does, their hoops will not fall from them and allow said vesselsto fall to pieces. At another time the vessels may be stored in a verydamp place or be filled with liquid, when the wood of the vessels willswell and burst their hoops, or if the hoops are sufficiently strong forwithstanding the strain the staves or heads of the vessels will becompressed to such an extent as to crush them inward or outward fromtheir normal position and to impair the liquid-holding quality of saidves sels. In order to avoid these consequences I provide the hoops alongthat edge which has the largest diameter when placed upon a vessel witha series of corrugations, and also inside of said corrugations with oneor more rows of diamond shaped elevations which overlap each other andsaid corrugations and extend with said corrugations over the major partof the width of said hoop, producing thereby a hoop having the qualityof expanding or contracting, as the wood of the vessel may require.

My invention is illustrated in the following drawings, in which Figure 1is a perspective view of a hoop flared for fitting a pail or othertapering vessel. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, upon a larger scale thanFig. 1, as are the following figures, of a portion of a completed hoop.Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a part of one of the staves and aportion of the bottom of a vessel and of the hoop upon the line a a ofFig. 2, and Fig. 4: is a similar section upon the line b b of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals indicate like parts in the several views.

1 indicates the hoop; 1, its plain edge or edge of the smallest diameter1", its opposite edge or the flared one having the larger diameter; 2, aseries of corrugations along the edge 1; 3 3, a series of elevationswhich are arranged in two rows lengthwise of the hoop; 4, a stave of avessel; 5, its bottom.

In order to produce a hoop that will fit properly to the surface of apail, barrel, or any vessel having a taper or bilge, the straight bandof which the hoop is formed must be flared. This is done by passing theband between two revolving rolls, which are so arranged that one edge ofthe band is compressed to a greater or less extent, the degree of thecompression increasing from one edge to the other and being governed bythe taper of the vessel upon which the hoop is to be used.- The greaterthe compression the more flare will be given to the band. The ends ofthe band may be connected in any suitable manner.

In order to obtain the desired benefit from the improvement the bandfrom which the hoop is made should be flared to such an extent thatafter the succeeding operations have been completed and the band isformed into a hoop the hoop will have slightly less flare than the flareor bilge of the vessel upon which it is to be used, so that the edge ofthe hoop having the largest diameter will engage the surface of thevessel and leave the edge having the smallest diameter standing offslightly from said surface.

The edge of the hoop having the largest diameter is provided with acontinuous series of corrugations which extend inward toward theopposite edge about one-tenth of the width of the hoop. At right anglesfrom the lowest depression of said corrugations and about onefourth ofthe width of the hoop from said corrugated edge are arranged the apexesof a series of nearly diamond-shaped elevations,and beyond andintermediate of said elevations is arranged another and similar series,but having a slightly lower elevation, the apexes of both series beingrounded off inall directions. Said apexes, together with those of theedge corrugations, are adapted to bear upon and penetrate slightly intothe wood of the vessel as its circumference is increased by the swellingof the wood, the innumerable depressions and elevations of the surfaceof the hoop, together with its resiliency, allowing the hoop to expandto quite an extent in the direction of its length before a strain of anyextent is produced along the plain edge of the hoop. The number of theseseries of elevations and the length transversely of the hoop of thebases of the elevations of each series and also of the corrugations atthe edge of the hoop may be more or less than is here shown as the widthof the hoop requires in order that the major portion of its width may becovered by them.

Those conversant with the use of metal hoops upon pails,tubs,barrels,the. ,when made of wood, are aware that if a hoop bursts itscommencement is universally at that edge of the hoop where the greateststrain exists, and, as the larger the circumference the greater will bethe expansion, upon that edge of the hoop will the break commence. \Viththis improvement the corrugations 2 and diamondshaped elevations 3 and3, with their rounded apexes 3 and overlappingbases 3, are along thatedge of the hoop where the greatest strain exists, said elements,together with the elasticity of the hoop, permitting the hoop to fititself to the surface of the vessel and to receive the tension caused bydriving the hoop or by the swelling of the wood of the vessel before adirect demand is made upon its tension along its plain edge, andconsequently its tendency to burst from the swelling of the wood of theVessel is greatly lessened. It may be noted that these elevations inpenetrating the wood of the Vessel serve to retain the hoop in its placewhenever a slight shrinkage of the wood takes place. The principaladvantages of them are, however, to give to the hoop the necessaryelements for permitting it to expand when the wood swells or to c011-tract when it shrinks, said elements being along that edge of the hoopwhere the greatest change in the dimension of the vessel must takeplace.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

A hoop for pails, tubs, or coopers ware, having a taper, consisting of aflared band of spring metal having in combination a plain edge for theone having the smallest diameter, and along its opposite edge a seriesof corrugations extending inward at right angles therewith a distanceapproximating one-tenth of the width of said hoop, one or more rowslengthwise thereof of diamond-shaped elevations having apexes of arounded form, which apexes together with those of said corrugations arearranged in a zigzag line across the hoop for a distance exceedingone-half the width thereof, the bases of said corrugations andelevations overlapping each other, and the flare of said hoop beingadapted for the apexes of said corrugations and elevations engaging thesurface of said ware and to thereby hold the aforesaid plain edge of thehoop from direct pressure thereon, substantially as described.

(JIIARLES R. SMITH.

\Vitnesses \V. M. ELLIOTT, II. J. MAYER.

